The congratulatory Tweet referenced Boston Red Sox infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce, who was named MVP of the 2018 World Series. Pearce, who played with McCutchen for three years in Pittsburgh, earned the award by posting a 1.167 OPS and driving in eight runs as Boston defeated the Dodgers in five games.

With 2018 expectations high for the Bombers, following a 2017 ALCS appearance, the fan reaction is understandable. However, the non-Yankee segment of Twitter quickly jumped in to point out the overreaction:

Baseball is a business, and McCutchen is a businessman. Just because he was willing to shave his beard to put on the pinstripes doesn’t mean he has to take a blood oath of loyalty to the Yankees and turn his back on any friends who dare to put on a Boston uniform.

If he had spent more time in New York, the situation would be different. In that case, a private text or DM to his old buddy would be a better way to go.

But McCutchen was just a last-minute Yankee in 2018.

I mean, it’s not like he’s Derek Jeter, who took the hundreds of millions of dollars he made from the Yankees, bought the Miami Marlins, and dumped his new team’s worst contract in the Bronx.